A Change of Seasons
by Marishaten
Summary: The angst of his hanyou daughter finally makes Sesshoumaru realize a thing or two.
1. Domestic Disturbances

A/N: Originally posted to IYIssekiwa for their prompt Raise or Raze. Won first position.

Momoko's words fell like thunderclap upon Sesshoumaru's ears. Groping for his chair, he let himself fall in it. The dying rays of the sun filtered through the glass windows and tinged his white hair red.

His daughter – his own flesh – had asked him if she meant anything to him! If he despised her for being a _half-demon_!

_How could Momoko even say such a thing?_

Footsteps echoed inside the room. Rin sat down opposite to him and started fanning herself. She was well into her third pregnancy. Usually her plump hands and swollen figure would fascinate her husband to no end but today he sat silently, absorbed in his own thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked.

Sesshoumaru looked up. "Momoko asked me if I despise her," he stated icily. He wouldn't let Rin see his turmoil – that'd be beneath his dignity.

"Probably because of the way you treat Inuyasha-sama," Rin replied casually.

"But she's my _blood_, my _daughter_," he protested – this time with more emotion. "I named her after my favourite flower!"

"Really?" Rin frowned, "_That's_ your favourite flower?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her as if she was insane.

"You _see_!" Rin spread her hands out, "If you continue to raise these walls around you _everybody_ is going to get the wrong picture. I mean, if _I_ didn't know that plum is your favourite flower, it's obvious that Momoko doesn't know it either!"

Sesshoumaru sighed – did Rin want him to wear his heart on his sleeve now? He shuddered at the very idea.


	2. Changing Heart

Originally submitted to IYFanfiction for their prompt Hideout. Won first position.

The niko played beautifully, like the notes from little pearl-drops scattering in the clear water of a lake. Large flakes of snow were falling soundlessly from the silver sky. The player herself remained hidden inside a leafy bower, ensconced within the magical leaves of her tree that withered not even in the midst of deep winter.

The sound revolved plaintively around the ears of her father – at times complaining, at times entreating, seeking his reassurance. With a sigh, Sesshoumaru tossed aside the document he was inspecting and rubbed his temples with the tip of his clawed fingers.

'_Momoko, child, why do you vex me so?'_ he asked silently.

At once, the answer came to him. She had inherited the stubbornness of her clan – of _his_ clan – their legendary tenacity that wouldn't let her stop until she received her answer. Shaking his head, the taiyoukai rose from his table.

A wind blew through the sakura petals scattered in the April snow, stirring up a blizzard of white. Unwilling feet strode on purposefully till they came to the base of the giant sakura tree in the middle of the garden – his daughter's present hideout. With a face as perfect as though it was carved by a sculptor, he icily regarded the tree. The colour of the petals was a rich, vivid pink – of such charm and vivacity as was not seen in the mortal realm. It was a tree of some other time, imported from the castle of his mother and planted in the midst of earthly mediocrity. It was a wonder that the tree had struck root and grown to its present size.

The sound from the niko was oozing out of the branches, ringing far and wide like a crystal bell. Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru thought of something said to him a long time ago.

"You have been in the company of humans for too long – you are turning into one of them," his mother's voice, half-mocking, rang in his ears.

'_Had she spoken the truth? I wonder…'_ he thought.

A thousand-year-old weariness trickled down his heart like the sluggish flow of thick honey. Had he really changed that much? Had the true Sesshoumaru, like the ancient sakura, disappeared from the world? Had he allowed the humans with their frailty and mortality to touch him, who was flawless and complete?

A crimson petal fell to the ground, dyeing the snow with a bloody hue.

He could not deny that he now felt pity for them – for all those who bowed down to mortality. They would either blaze like comets across the sky or fall silently like the petals of sakura – but in the end they had no choice but to kneel and obey the command of destiny.

Did he despise them for their weakness?

Probably not. Not anymore.

The sakura was falling like incessant rain.


	3. The Other Side of the Mirror

Submitted originally to IYFanfiction for their prompt Loss. Won first position.

"Momoko," Sesshoumaru's voice thundered through the snow-laden sanctuary.

The niko stopped playing. The wind died down. Only the scent of white magnolias – purer than the whitest snow – lingered in the cold, crisp air.

"Momoko," Sesshoumaru repeated, "let me in. I need to speak to you."

No rustling was heard in the tree but a ladder made of silver rope materialized in front of the youkai. He gracefully climbed up the steps – not that he needed the ladder – and stooped as he made his way through the low entrance.

The inside was a spacious room – its walls made of gnarled boughs adorned with green leaves that created a warm, insulating effect. Green and silver light filtered through them, filling the chamber with a soft, enchanting glow. Momoko was sitting in a corner, her long white hair cascading on to the mossy floor. Her dog-ears drooped dejectedly, giving her the appearance of such misery that melted her father's heart. The niko lay abandoned by her side.

Gathering the folds of his robe, Sesshoumaru sat down beside her. For a long time neither spoke a word, though the thoughts that were revolving in their heads were identical.

This was their favourite den, where they used to spend hours together, watching the seasons pass by. In springtime they would watch the sakura petals fall; in summer, they would gaze at the moon reflected in the clear pool; in autumn, they would trace the momiji leaves, as they formed a dazzling red brocade upon the bridge over the little stream; in winter they would reach out from between the boughs and catch the falling snowflakes, and see them melt and disappear in their hands. Momoko had inherited his father's deep affection for nature; she would draw comfort from his silent presence.

But today, mere silence was not enough.

Today he had the task of healing his daughter's loss of faith in him.

"You have it all wrong," he said in a flat voice.

Momoko looked at her father, as he gazed straight ahead. This was how he had always looked. In fact, seeing his stony face one would assume that he had no ambition at all, just an aristocrat with a high social rank and nothing else.

She didn't realize that even if he held a bloody sword in his hands after mercilessly slaughtering his prey, he would still have the same expressionless expression on his beautiful face.

"It's not true – that I despise you for being a hanyou," he clarified after a while.

"But the way you treat Ojisan-" Momoko began to protest but apparently her father took no notice of it.

"I have my reasons for hating Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru's voice resonated inside the bower, "he is a disgrace to your grandfather's name. The way he rushes headstrong into battle with no heed to the consequence, the way he gives his all to whichever woman he happens at that moment to be in love with…"

"Like these petals," Momoko said softly, "always rushing to scatter and fall, never holding back because they know there won't be a future generation."

Sesshoumaru stared at his daughter, suddenly intrigued.

"We are born out of the selfishness of people – out of a forbidden love that never should have been. We don't belong to either world, we are forever lurking at the fringes of both societies – like those who look through the glass doors and watch a banquet going on inside. We are always the outsiders. Ojisan was lucky to find Obasan, but shall I be so fortunate? I wonder…and so you see we never really hold back – either in battle or in love – because we don't have anybody to hold back for. Neither do we have an eternity to wait for it, we half-mortals."

Sesshoumaru sat silently, looking at the restless sakura petals, trying to absorb what his daughter just said. He and Rin would give her everything she needed but a time would come when she would need something more. And while he could easily threaten any man, mortal or youkai, to marry his daughter could he guarantee love and respect for her? Especially when he himself treated all other half-bloods with such contempt.

Even his own half-brother.

"You will always be loved and cherished by us," Sesshoumaru remained impassive as he spoke. "Plum is my favourite blossom," he added a while later, as if that explained everything.

Surprisingly, it did. Momoko knew that was as big a confession of love as she could ever hope to hear from her strangely reticent father. On an impulse, she gave him a hug. He returned it with a wooden smile and an awkward pat on the top of her head. Momoko grinned. '_Poor dear, he's really rather hopeless,'_ she thought to herself.

Sesshoumaru got up. "Now go home to your mother." It was a command, but softly spoken. Momoko looked at him.

"Aren't you coming as well?"

"I have business with your uncle," he declared as he leapt nimbly to the ground.


	4. Apology

Submitted originally to IYFanfiction for their prompt Blast. Won first position.

Inuyasha was standing by the side of the river, the spring breeze blowing through his long silver hair. His eyes were half hidden by long lashes as he contemplated the waves that rose and died within the water. In the distance, bamboo leaves rubbed against each other, making an oddly disconcerting noise.

Absorbed as he was in his silent mediation, he scarcely turned his head at the blast of blue energy that announced the arrival of his half-brother.

"Must you always make such a noisy entrance?" the hanyou tsked, as a shoal of fish swam helter-skelter, trying to hide in the liquid depths of the gushing water.

"It is easier this way," the taiyoukai replied quietly as he came and stood beside his half-brother.

Gone were the days when the two would greet each other with clashing steel and claws. They now followed the logic of crows – two crows would never peck out each other's eyes because that would only weaken their kind. Instead, they remained at a distance from each other, each enveloped in his own icy indifference.

The elder broke the silence.

"How is Kagome?"

"She's okay…why don't you pay her a visit?" It was an invitation, but the tone conveyed nothing but apathy.

Sesshoumaru showed no intention of taking him up on the offer. Instead, he went on calmly observing the scene around him. Time had changed the brothers till they had become quite similar to each other. One had lost part of his iciness while the other had gained a shade of control. Neither would offer any justification for his deeds, nor would he show any hesitation. And no matter what dark thought invaded their internal balance, neither would topple and fall prey to it. A gust of wind washed over them as they stood like matching statues by the side of the river.

"I've misjudged you, belittled your character," Sesshoumaru stated as a matter of fact.

If his words had made any impact, it wasn't apparent from Inuyasha's stoic expression. Sesshoumaru continued without encouragement.

"I should not have despised you for being half youkai."

Inuyasha laughed inwardly. Maybe there was a time when such a line would have meant something to him. But that time had passed long ago.

"Want to get into the good books of Rin?" Inuyasha asked with a sneer.

"I have been chastised," Sesshoumaru admitted, "by Momoko. She was quite upset."

Unspoken understanding shimmered between the siblings, like an invisible bond. The scent of the grass invaded their nostrils, permeating them with a deep, overpowering sense of peace, now that the words had finally been said out loud and the reason behind them was made clear as well.

"Apology accepted."

The purpose of his visit was over and yet Sesshoumaru lingered.

"You found Kagome but Momoko…" he left the rest of the sentence hanging like a question mark in the air.

"She'll also find someone just as special, so don't worry about it."

Sesshoumaru smiled for the first time since daybreak.


End file.
